Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Plot of the Polls

Have you ever noticed, when you're reading an article or op ed piece based on poll information, that they never tell you, until the very last sentence of the poll, how many people took part in that poll?

http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race

You read the body of the article and the author makes sweeping statements (40% of ALL white Deomocrats feel this way. 40% of ALL white Americans feel this way):

1) one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.

2) 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

3) More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey

4) Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren't voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn't vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.

5) The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."

6) Just 59 percent of her white Democratic supporters said they wanted Obama to be president. Nearly 17 percent of Clinton's white backers plan to vote for McCain.

Now... after reading that.... you probably think that the 300 Million People who make up these United States answered those questions.

Well, you'd be wrong.

Those sweeping statements, about ALL Democrats, come from a poll of a grand total of 2,227 adults.

The poll doesn't answer these questions. From what state was each of the people polled? They were polled by telephone number - how were their phone numbers acquired? (From voting rolls, presumably, since they knew they were Democrats.)

Sentence 4 seems to imply that Republicans were given this survey, too. Of the 2,227 adults given this survey, how many were Democrats, and how many Republicans?

Adults.... how many were 18, how many were 30, how many in their 60s.

Frankly, this poll is useless. Most polls are useless.

Yes, there is racism in America - white on black, black on white, white on the other minorities, the other minorities against white - no denying that.

But how did Obama overcome Hilary Clinton with so many Democrats feeling as this poll says they do? Was "black power" enough to get Obama over the top, or were Democrats just not ready for a woman president?

Could it be that *personalities*, not race, have a role here?

I'm a woman, a feminist, and I would never vote for Hilary CLinton because she should have divorced hubby Bill a long time ago. Not to mention her lies about being under sniper fire, White Water, etc.

Put Colin Powell on the ticket, or Howard Caine...I'd vote for them. But Barack Obama, he of the "funny" name? The guy with ties to terrorist Bill Ayers. Ties to the Reverend Wright who preaches black liberation theology and then has his church buy him a multi-million dollar house in a 99% white GATED community? His ties to Tony Rezko? The fact that he promised to bring "new politics" to the government and is turning out to be justs like any other politician, and even better at it? The fact that his wife tells black women not to try to go to college to get good jobs, but rather enter the "service" professions, while she herself gets a $300,000 a year job at a hospital, right after her husband is elected to the Senate?

Obama think there are 57 states. Does that make him stupid? No...most kids these days, black or white, probably think the same thing. There's a few other verbal gaffes of his I can't call to mind right now.

But there's plenty of good reason not to vote for Obama...but if he doesn't win the presidency... it's going to be because of racism.

That's what the media wants us to think...piling on that white guilt...

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